Written Answers Thursday 16 December 2010

Scottish Executive

Air Services

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will notify the Parliament and the European Commission of the review of the Air Discount Scheme.

Keith Brown: Following completion of our review of the Air Discount Scheme, we will notify the European Commission early in the New Year of the scheme’s proposed continuation beyond 31 March 2011 and will update the Scottish Parliament.

Air Services

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings it estimates will arise from the removal of business-related travel claims from the Air Discount Scheme.

Keith Brown: We estimate that a reduction of £2.7 million in the Air Discount Scheme budget will be achieved from the removal of business-related travel.

Business Rates

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive at what level the business rates for out-of-town retail parks announced in the draft budget for 2011-12 are to be set.

John Swinney: The Non-Domestic Rates (Levying) (Scotland) (No. 3) Regulations 2010 were laid in Parliament on 9 December 2010. These regulations set out the stepped levels of business rates that will apply to the largest retail properties in Scotland with a rateable value over £750,000.

Business Rates

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of the legality of the business rates measures announced in the draft budget for 2011-12.

John Swinney: The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 provides the legal basis for Ministers to set the amount of non-domestic rates including powers to make different provision for different classes of non-domestic property.

Cancer

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women over 70 have self-referred to the breast-screening programme in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Nicola Sturgeon: Details are as follows:

  Number of Self/GP Referrals Screened by the Scottish Breast Screening Programme

  Women Aged Over 70, Scotland: 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2009

  

 Age
>70


 1999-2000
 1,967


 2000-01
 2,182


 2001-02
 2,629


 2002-03
 3,381


 2003-04²
 4,024


 2004-05
 4,847


 2005-06
 5,768


 2006-07
 6,156


 2007-08
 6,572


 2008-09
 8,498



  Source: Tables E, F1 and F2 KC62 Returns. Ref: IR2010-03073, S3W-38105.

  Notes:

  1. Breast Screening year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

  2. In Scotland, women aged 50 to 64 years were invited for a routine screen once every three years until 2003-04, when the age range for invitation was extended to include women up to the age of 70 years. This expansion was phased in throughout the country over a three year round of screening. Women over 70 years are still screened three yearly on request.

Cancer

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of women over 70 who self-refer to the breast-screening programme.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that women over 70 are aware that they can self-refer to the breast-screening programme.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26752 on 10 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Cancer

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available to women over 70 explaining the process for self-referral to the breast-screening programme.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information about the Scottish Breast Screening Programme is available from NHS Health Scotland.

  The Breast Screening Explained leaflet outlines how the breast screening service is organised including information on self-referral for women over 70. This leaflet is available to download from the NHS Health Scotland website at http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/1390.aspx or from local health promotion resource departments.

Cancer

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available to people who are blind or partially sighted regarding self-referral to the breast-screening programme.

Shona Robison: Information about the Scottish Breast Screening Programme is available from NHS Health Scotland

  NHS Health Scotland publications are available in alternative formats for example: Braille, large print and audio versions. These can be requested by contacting NHS Health Publications on telephone number 0131 536 5544 or e-mail nhs.healthscotland-alternativeformats@nhs.net.

Cancer

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances women under 50 can obtain screening for breast cancer

Nicola Sturgeon: Women who have concerns either between their routine scheduled screening appointments or before they are invited to join the programme are advised to discuss these concerns with their GP.

  Women of any age who have concerns that they may be at risk due to a family history of cancer may be referred by their GP to a Regional Genetics Clinic. Guidelines for Cancer Genetic Services in Scotland – Management of Women with a Family History of Breast Cancer is available at: http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2009_06.pdf.

Carers

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since May 2007 in supporting grandparents providing childcare for grandchildren aged under three.

Adam Ingram: Local authorities take the lead in providing childcare services, working with partners in the voluntary and private sectors, to meet the needs of children, their parents and, where applicable, their other carers, including grandparents. Scottish Government financial support for childcare is included within the overall local government settlement. In addition, we support national childcare and parenting organisations in the voluntary sector and we have been able to protect that funding for 2011-12. The provision of accessible, affordable and flexible childcare remains a priority for the Scottish Government and we will continue to work with our partners to take this forward.

Children

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure that parents can access information and support services in every community in Scotland.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government’s website provides a wide range of information and access to statistics that may be of interest to parents. We also continue to support many of the national parenting and children’s voluntary sector organisations which provide information on services they provide in Scottish communities.

  Information on local services can come from several sources, depending on the nature of the parental enquiry and where responsibility for the service lies. For example, local information on education and social work services is likely to be found on local authority websites or through local literature.

Climate Change

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37633 by Stewart Stevenson on 6 December 2010, what level of funding has been allocated in the draft budget for 2011-12 to support the implementation of the climate change public engagement strategy.

Roseanna Cunningham: Details of our approach will be contained in the public engagement strategy, which will be published by 31 December 2010.

Construction

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many construction sector workers in (a) Dundee and (b) Angus are registered as looking for work as (i) bricklayers, (ii) masons, (iii) roofers, roof tilers and slaters, (iv) plumbers, (v) heating engineers, (vi) joiners, (vii) plasterers, (viii) floorers, (ix) wall tilers, (x) painters and decorators, (xi) glaziers and (xii) steel erectors.

Jim Mather: The claimant count is a measure of those claiming unemployment related benefits in Scotland. The information requested is set out in the following table.

  Table 1. Number of people on the Claimant Count by Sought Occupation, November 2010.

  

 Occupation
 Angus
 Dundee City


 5311: Steel erectors
 0
 0


 5312: Bricklayers, masons
 15
 35


 5313: Roofers, roof tilers and slaters
 10
 10


 5314: Plumbers, heating and ventilating engineers
 10
 50


 5315: Carpenters and joiners
 45
 100


 5316: Glaziers, window fabricators and fitters
 0
 5


 5321: Plasterers
 0
 5


 5322: Floorers and wall tilers
 10
 20


 5323: Painters and decorators
 25
 60


 Total
 120
 285



  Source. Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Cycling

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a funded plan to improve and increase on-road cycle training for primary 6 and 7 pupils

Keith Brown: Yes. We published the first Cycling Action Plan for Scotland in June 2010. That plan commits us to "establishing a new Cycle Training Standards and Delivery Support Group to formulate a plan by end of 2010 to deliver a co-ordinated approach to training; an increase in the number of volunteers available to deliver training; a support network for the volunteers, and support for local authorities in offering the three levels of cycle training including on-road."

  Under that Cycling Action Plan, Cycling Scotland is now preparing to publish a specific plan to increase the number of children receiving cycle training, including on-road training. In 2010-11, £300,000 is being allocated to enhance the delivery of cycle training. Future funding allocations will be made in due course.

Diabetes

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were diagnosed with diabetes as a result of screening checks undertaken by Keep Well and Well North projects in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08 and (c) 2009-10.

Shona Robison: To date, over 91,000 people have received a Keep Well health check. Every patient who attends a Keep Well check is assessed for diabetes. However, information on the number of people diagnosed with diabetes as a result of Keep Well and Well North health checks is not held centrally. Details will be available from individual Keep Well boards that hold their own local records.

Domestic Abuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up services and support for male victims of domestic violence.

Alex Neil: It is not the role of the Scottish Government to set up services for victims. However, we are fully supportive of appropriate services being available to support male victims of domestic abuse.

  Since April this year, we have been providing funding to Respect to extend the Men’s Advice Line, a dedicated support for male victims, to Scotland. In addition, we have been working with Abused Men in Scotland to further our understanding of the needs of male victims. We will assess the need for additional service provision once the advice line has been evaluated after a year.

Domestic Abuse

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been brought before the domestic abuse court in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how widely available support services are for families of drug addicts and those who misuse alcohol

Fergus Ewing: A range of support services for families of people who use drugs and misuse alcohol are available across Scotland. These services help individuals and families to recover from the harms caused by drugs and alcohol.

  Funding for alcohol and drug treatment and support services is allocated to NHS health boards. However, decisions on spend for alcohol and drug services are made at a local level by alcohol and drug partnerships, who have clear responsibilities to develop effective local alcohol and drugs strategies. We expect these partnerships to make sure there is access to a range of appropriate services based on the needs of the local community, including services to support families.

  The Scottish Government provided £28.6 million to health boards for frontline drug services in 2010-11; this represents an increase of over 20% since 2006-07, exceeding the manifesto commitment. In 2011-12, we are proposing to maintain funding for drug treatment services at the level of 2010-11. The Scottish Government has also made record investment of around £100 million through NHS boards (2008-11) - a tripling of resources on the previous three years – to provide vital local prevention, support and treatment services for those affected both directly and indirectly by alcohol misuse, in line with local need as identified by local alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs). Supporting children affected by parental substance misuse is one of four key priorities identified for local ADPs.

  The voluntary sector also plays an important role in supporting families of people who use drugs and misuse alcohol. The Scottish Government’s Unified Voluntary Sector Fund (UVSF) provided £70,266 in 2010-11 to Scottish Families Affected by Drugs, a national organisation that aims to support families across Scotland who are affected by drugs and raise awareness of the issues affecting them. Scottish Families Affected by Drugs aims to reduce the isolation and stigma felt by many families by representing them at local and national level; providing seminars and training events for family support groups, and providing access to support through the National Helpline services.

  There are also a number of mutual aid groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) across Scotland that support individuals in their recovery and also help to catalyse the growth of recovery communities that support families and individuals to overcome the problems associated with drug and alcohol misuse.

  In addition, the National Directory of Drug Treatment Services, maintained by the Scottish Drugs Forum, lists national organisations where families can seek help. This is available at: www.scottishdrugservices.com.

  Information on support services for families of those who misuse alcohol is not held centrally. Alcohol Focus Scotland provide a search facility to identity support services throughout Scotland on their website. This is available at: http://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/getting_help/where_can_i_get_help/.

Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many physical education specialist instructors have qualified in Scotland in each year since 1999.

Michael Russell: Table 1 shows the number of higher education qualifiers who gained a teaching qualification in physical education since the 1999-2000 academic year.

  Table 1. Higher Education Qualifiers Gaining Teaching Qualifications in Physical Education: 1999-2000 to 2008-09

  

 AcademicYear
 Number of Qualifiers


 1999-2000
 65


 2000-01
 60


 2001-02
 100


 2002-03
 95


 2003-04
 80


 2004-05
 115


 2005-06
 155


 2006-07
 160


 2007-08
 140


 2008-09
 155



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

  Note: Figures in this table have been rounded to the nearest five.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many subjects it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that pupils can be examined for eight subjects in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it considers that pupils can be examined in fewer than eight subjects in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to give advice to schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system and, if so, what advice.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: There are no national prescriptions for the number of subjects pupils should be examined for in S4. The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Schools will take into consideration how they can provide a variety of options to suit the needs of the learner rather than treating all S4 pupils as a uniform cohort. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk .

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding the number of subjects that it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice the Scottish Qualifications Authority has given schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that it expects pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is responsible for the awarding of qualifications. While it works closely with local authorities and schools around delivery of the qualifications, specific advice to local authorities on the number of subjects that pupils should be examined for is not a matter for SQA.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. SQA is part of the partnership that has been involved in quality assuring these models. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what feedback it has received from schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that they will allow pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to gather feedback from schools and local authorities regarding the number of subjects that they will allow pupils to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system and, if so, when it will make this feedback public.

Michael Russell: As is currently the case, schools and local authorities are not required to inform the Scottish Government of their plans for delivery of qualifications.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the number of subjects that pupils (a) can and (b) should be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has not discussed this issue with COSLA. However, the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board (on which the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) represent the interests of local authorities) agreed the general approach to curriculum structures set out in Building the Curriculum 3: a framework for learning and teaching , and subsequent guidance on the senior phase.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the teaching unions regarding the number of subjects that pupils (a) can and (b) should be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: A number of teaching unions are represented on the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board that has agreed the general approach to curriculum structures set out in Building the Curriculum 3: a framework for learning and teaching , and subsequent guidance on the senior phase.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many subjects the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board considers pupils should expect to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: The Curriculum for Excellence Management Board has agreed the general approach to curriculum structures set out in Building the Curriculum 3: a framework for learning and teaching , and subsequent guidance on the senior phase.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many subjects the Curriculum for Excellence Stakeholder Group considers pupils should expect to be examined for in S4 under the new national qualifications system.

Michael Russell: The Curriculum for Excellence Stakeholder Group has not expressed any expectation in relation to the number of subjects it considers should be examined for in S4.

  The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. Several models developed by schools to illustrate emerging thinking on how the senior phase (S4-S6) could be delivered are available on the Curriculum for Excellence website, including case studies that illustrate how five to eight subjects can be taken. The website address is www.ltscotland.org.uk.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many UCAS points will be attributed to National 4 qualifications and how this will differ from the points attributed to standard grade qualifications.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many UCAS points will be attributed to National 5 qualifications and how this will differ from the points attributed to standard grade qualifications.

Michael Russell: The UCAS Tariff system does not allocate points to qualifications below Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 6 i.e. Higher qualifications.

Education

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether students in Scotland could be put at a competitive disadvantage compared with students in England when applying for UK universities if the number of subjects that they can study at S4 is limited.

Michael Russell: Universities are generally interested in higher level qualifications. The Scottish Government, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), UCAS, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (SPA) and other agencies have undertaken a great deal of work to inform universities in England and Wales about Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers and their comparative tariff ratings. This work will continue as universities continue to consider both their admissions policies and learning at teaching in the light of the changes which Curriculum for Excellence will bring.

  Curriculum for Excellence is aimed at increasing achievement and attainment, thus enhancing and not limiting progression to higher education whether in Scotland, the wider UK or beyond.

Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) is evaluating outdoor learning in its school inspections as stated on page 26 of the Scottish Government’s Early Years Framework.

Michael Russell: HMIE inspects pre-school centres across local authority, private and voluntary sectors. In each inspection, Inspectors consider the provision for outdoor learning which the service provides. They evaluate children’s progress in physical development under the Curriculum for Excellence area Health and Wellbeing. Where services need to make improvements in outdoor learning, this will be reported to staff and parents. HMIE notes that centres are improving access to outdoor learning across sectors. Good examples of children making effective use of the local environment include "forest pre-school" developments.

Electricity

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the statement in the Draft Electricity Generation Policy Statement 2010 that "NPF2 does not set policy in stone and energy policy has moved rapidly in the EU, UK and Scotland during the past year in line with evolving technologies", whether it plans to remove the provision of a clean-coal-fired power station at Hunterston from the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2.

John Swinney: The National Planning Framework is subject to a statutory five yearly review. There are no plans for an early revision of any aspect of the framework. The 2011 National Planning Framework Monitoring Report will address the spatial planning implications of developments in energy technologies and policy.

Electricity

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the members are of the Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Community Liaison Group that will advise on mitigation on the Beauly to Denny power line in areas of sensitivity.

Jim Mather: The members of the Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Community Liaison Group which will advise on mitigation are:

  (a) the local authorities for the areas in which the development is situated;

  (b) Scottish Natural Heritage;

  (c) Historic Scotland;

  (d) the Forestry Commission;

  (e) Visit Scotland, and

  (d) the National Trust for Scotland.

Electricity

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in considering the Scottish Power report on mitigation of the Beauly to Denny power line, it will seek an independent opinion on the costs of undergrounding.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is participating in a UK wide independent assessment of the cost of undergrounding transmission lines compared to the cost for equivalent overhead lines. This assessment is being undertaken by KEMA and funded by National Grid.

  We look forward to seeing the conclusions when the study is completed in January 2011.

Electricity

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can confirm that Scottish Natural Heritage recommended an undergrounding route to the west of Stirling in relation to the Beauly to Denny power line.

Jim Mather: Scottish Natural Heritage did not recommend any undergrounding options to the west of Stirling in relation to the Beauly to Denny power line.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37579 by John Swinney on 25 November 2010, how many women are employed by each local authority, expressed as (a) full-time equivalents and (b) a percentage of full-time equivalents.

John Swinney: I refer to the member to the answer to question S3W-37984 on 13 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Environment

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new regulations the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has recommended since May 2007.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many regulations Scottish Environment Protection Agency has advised should be withdrawn since May 2007.

Roseanna Cunningham: None. The Scottish Government works with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on an ongoing basis on the development of legislation affecting the environment. A good number of environmental regulations are introduced to implement European legislation. We also have regular discussions with SEPA on its Better Environmental Regulation programme that focuses on options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental regulation and to reduce the regulatory impact on businesses. SEPA has recently issued a consultation paper on options for moving from separate environmental regulations for air, water, waste and radioactive substances to a simpler, integrated model.

Fisheries

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting the Eyemouth fishing industry.

Richard Lochhead: Following extensive discussion with the Scottish Fisheries Council, the Scottish Government has adopted a four pillar plan designed to support the fishing industry across Scotland. The aim, in Eyemouth as elsewhere, is to enable Scottish fishermen to weather current challenges and ensure their industry’s future viability.

  Of course, just this week we have also concluded the annual autumn negotiations in Brussels, in which I secured the best possible deal available to Scotland within the current, broken, Common Fisheries Policy framework.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fish farm inspections the Fish Health Inspectorate has carried out in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: 2010
 661


 2009
 871


 2008
 807


 2007
 916


 2006
 925

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fish farms the Fish Health Inspectorate has inspected in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: 2010
 407


 2009
 494


 2008
 529


 2007
 530


 2006
 542

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of regulations at fish farms the Fish Health Inspectorate has detected in each of the last five years.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulatory action has been taken as a result of inspections by the Fish Health Inspectorate in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: Technical breaches of the regulations, such as errors or omissions in record keeping are detected very regularly by inspectors. These are dealt with either on site with verbal recommendations, or are followed up with written advice. There is currently no easily searchable capture of all of these findings. No serious breaches of the regulations, which have led to the issuing of an enforcement notice or of formal prosecution proceedings, have occurred in any of the last five years.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Fish Health Inspectorate has commenced unannounced visits to fish farms, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeting of 22 June 2010.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on making it a requirement for all operators in the marine environment to enter into Farm Management Agreements, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeting of 22 June 2010.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on making it a requirement for non-efficacious treatments of sea lice and the mortality of farmed fish due to sea louse infection to be reported to Marine Scotland, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeting of 22 June 2010.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Healthier Fish Working Group was established by the Scottish Government in order that it could make recommendations to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture (MGA), which it did in June of this year. Officials have been considering the recommendations and I intend to further discuss the recommendations with the industry at the next meeting of the MGA in February. On the specific question of unannounced visits to fish farms, I can confirm that the Fish Health Inspectorate is currently considering the practical aspects of carrying out such inspections with a view to their commencement in 2011.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections of fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes were made in 2009-10.

Roseanna Cunningham: Sea lice inspections – 284, containment inspections – 501.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections of fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes have been made since 1 April 2010.

Roseanna Cunningham: Sea lice inspections – 136, containment inspections – 216.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the results of inspections of individual fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes are publicly available.

Roseanna Cunningham: The results of individual inspections are not routinely published, although they are and have been made available where requested under the terms of freedom of information legislation. A publication plan, which would see the outcomes of routine and enhanced inspections being published, has been submitted for consideration by Marine Scotland officials.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information NHSScotland provides to the general public regarding thyroid conditions.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS inform, the national health information service for Scotland, provides people with a wide range of quality-assured health information. This information can be accessed online at www.nhsinform.co.uk , or by calling 0800 22 44 88.

  Details of the information available on thyroid conditions are given in the answer to question S3W-38114 on 16 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients diagnosed with Myalgic encephalopathy (ME) have existing thyroid conditions.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is given to thyroid patients to help them manage their condition.

Nicola Sturgeon: We would expect people with a thyroid condition to be given appropriate information by their GP or other healthcare professionals, based on relevant clinical guidelines.

  The following general information is available from the NHS Inform website:

  Overactive thyroid

  The role of the thyroid gland, symptoms, potential causes, various treatments, when to seek urgent medical attention, complications and useful links: http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/t/thyroid-over-active/introduction.aspx

  Underactive thyroid

  The role of the thyroid gland, symptoms, potential causes, various treatments, complications and useful links:  http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/t/thyroid-under-active/introduction.aspx

  Thyroid Cancer

  This includes information on types of thyroid cancer, symptoms, when to seek medical advice, causes, diagnosis and tests, what happens in following treatment, complications and prevention, as well as useful links: http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/c/cancer-of-the-thyroid/introduction.aspx.

  Other organisations that provide such information and support to patients and the public include the British Thyroid Association and Thyroid UK.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the British Thyroid Association.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not met representatives of the British Thyroid Association, but would be willing to consider a meeting should the Association request one.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it provides to charities that aim to assist people with thyroid conditions.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not currently provide any funding to charities that aim to assist people living with thyroid conditions. We are not aware of any such charity having applied for funding.

Health

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it provides to GPs in relation to considering a potential thyroid patient’s blood test results.

Nicola Sturgeon: The development of clinical guidelines in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). We understand it has no current plans to develop a guideline on thyroid conditions.

  Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of conditions affecting the thyroid have been produced by the Royal College of Physicians, London, and the Society for Endocrinology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. These are based on the advice of expert clinicians, but are also informed by voluntary sector support groups, such as the British Thyroid Association.

  The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the GMS contract includes a domain on hypothyroidism. The second indicator, which relates to ongoing management of the condition, requires a blood test.

Health

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-obesity drugs were prescribed in NHS Tayside in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 and what the annual cost was.

Shona Robison: The following table shows the number of items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors and the gross ingredient cost for drugs indicated in the treatment of obesity in NHS Tayside for the financial years ended 31 March 2009 and 2010. The data exclude the direct supply of medicines to patients from hospitals and hospital-based clinics.

  

 Financial Year
 Number of Dispensed Items
 Gross Ingredient Cost (£)


 2008-09
 5,659
 197,942


 2009-10
 6,902
 232,987



  Notes:

  The data are based on British National Formulary section 4.5.

  Gross ingredient cost is the cost of an item before any discounts are applied. It excludes adjustments and broken bulk fees.

  The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland. Further information on prescribing can be found at www.isdscotland.org/prescribing.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consult on a draft Bill on self-directed support.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has today published a consultation on a draft Bill on self-directed support.

  The consultation can be found on the Scottish Government website using the following link:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/15105332.

International Development

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of its international development budget for 2011 -2012 will be allocated to work in Malawi.

Fiona Hyslop: As I set out in my evidence to the European and External Relations Committee on 7 and 14 December 2010, a minimum of £3 million has been allocated for our work in Malawi in 2011-12.

International Development

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis it decided not to ring-fence an allocation for work in Malawi in the 2011-2012 draft budget.

Fiona Hyslop: There has been no change to the Scottish Government’s policy commitment to ring-fence at least £3 million as part of the International Development policy. As I explained in evidence to the European and External Relations Committee on 7 and 14 December 2010, at least £3 million has already been allocated to Malawi in 2011-12.

Justice

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 have been reported to the procurator fiscal in (a) Dundee and (b) Tayside in 2009-10.

Frank Mulholland: In 2009-10, 13 charges under the Emergency Workers Act 2005 were reported to the Procurator Fiscal at Dundee and a further five charges were reported to other procurators fiscal in Tayside.

Justice

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is taken when a person fails to pay an outstanding fine despite being instructed to do so by a Justice of Peace.

Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

Justice

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is taken when a person fails to pay a fiscal fine.

Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many generic prescriptions the NHS has issued in each year since 2000.

Shona Robison: Information on prescriptions issued to people is not collected. The following table shows the number of generic prescriptions dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors for financial years ending 31 March 2000 to 2010 inclusive. These data exclude the direct supply of medicines to patients in hospitals and hospital-based clinics.

  Number of Dispensed Items

  

 Financial Year
 


 2000-01
 45,265,801


 2001-02
 48,772,555


 2002-03
 52,429,339


 2003-04
 55,707,997


 2004-05
 58,570,457


 2005-06
 61,212,593


 2006-07
 63,544,329


 2007-08
 65,754,550


 2008-09
 68,437,386


 2009-10
 71,257,525



  It has long been the Scottish Government’s policy to encourage generic prescribing wherever clinically appropriate. This policy has resulted in a high generic prescribing rate. In 2009-10 in Scotland, 83% of prescription items were prescribed generically in primary care.

  Notes:

  The data shown are that for items that are written and dispensed generically and items that are written generically but dispensed proprietary.

  The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland. Further information on prescribing can be found at www.isdscotland.org/prescribing.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many generic prescriptions the NHS has issued to people with a thyroid condition in each year since 2000.

Shona Robison: Information on prescriptions issued to people is not collected. The following table shows the number of generic prescriptions dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors for drugs defined in section 6.2 of the British National Formulary as involved in the treatment of a thyroid condition. These data exclude the direct supply of medicines to patients in hospitals and hospital-based clinics.

  Number of Dispensed Items

  

 Financial Year
 


 2000-01
 1,175,394


 2001-02
 1,298,665


 2002-03
 1,421,991


 2003-04
 1,537,656


 2004-05
 1,643,371


 2005-06
 1,754,542


 2006-07
 1,842,267


 2007-08
 1,924,964


 2008-09
 2,019,172


 2009-10
 2,129,128



  Notes:

  Propranolol can be used to treat thyrotoxic symptoms and beta blockers can be used in neonatal thyrotoxicosis and in supraventricular arrhythmias due to hyperthyroidism. These products can be used to treat other conditions and it is not possible to identify from prescribing data collected centrally the reason why a particular product has been prescribed.

  The data shown are that for items that are written and dispensed generically and items that are written generically but dispensed proprietary.

  The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland. Further information on prescribing can be found at www.isdscotland.org/prescribing.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of any complications arising from the use of generic rather than branded forms of thyroxine.

Shona Robison: The safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the MHRA and the Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The scheme collects ADR reports from across the whole United Kingdom and includes all medicines, including those from prescriptions, over-the-counter or general retail sales. The scheme relies on the voluntary reporting of suspected ADRs by health professionals and patients. There is also a legal requirement for pharmaceutical companies to report.

  It is important to note that the reporting of a suspected adverse reaction does not necessarily mean it is related to the drug. The MHRA asks reporters to send "suspicions" of adverse drug reactions however, these are not proven. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease being treated.

  As of 8 December 2010, the MHRA has received a total of six UK spontaneous "suspected" ADR reports associated with thyroxine (active substance: levothyroxine) where the reporter stated that the reactions occurred upon switching between different brands of thyroxine. These ADR reports were received during the time period 1989-2010. A breakdown of the reaction terms reported is shown in the following table:

  Reported Suspected Adverse Drug Reactions and their Outcomes

  

 Case 
 


 1
 Drug ineffective (Patient recovered)


 2
 Drug ineffective (Patient outcome not known)


 3
 Drug ineffective (Patient outcome not known)
  Blood thyroid stimulating hormone increased (Patient recovered)


 4
 Drug ineffective (Patient outcome not known)
  Blood thyroid stimulating hormone increased (Patient recovered), Hypothyroidism (Patient recovered)


 5
 Drug ineffective (Patient outcome not known)
  Activities of daily living impaired (Patient recovered)
  Blood thyroid stimulating hormone increased (Patient recovered)
  Fatigue (Patient recovered)Mental impairment (Patient recovered)


 6
 Rash (Patient outcome not known)
  Product substitution issue (Patient outcome not known)
  Heart rate increased (Patient outcome not known)
  Muscle spasms (Patient outcome not known)
  Fatigue (Patient has not recovered)
  Alopecia (Patient has not recovered) 
  Hair texture abnormal (Patient has not recovered)

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it provides to pharmacies regarding prescriptions for generic drugs for thyroid patients.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not provide guidelines to pharmacies regarding prescriptions for generic drugs for thyroid patients.

  Medicines legislation requires pharmacists to dispense medicines "in accordance with" a prescription. This means that medicines dispensed by or under the supervision of a pharmacist should be exactly what are written on the prescription.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gives pharmacies and GPs to ensure that the same strength of drugs is provided to thyroid patients.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not provide advice on the clinical management of individual patients. The management of a patient is an agreement between the clinicians involved and the patient and their carers, following an assessment of the patient’s condition.

  GPs are expected to follow agreed national clinical guidelines when diagnosing and managing conditions affecting the thyroid. These guidelines, are based on the advice of experts in the field, including the Royal College of Physicians, and the Society for Endocrinology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and informed by voluntary sector support groups, such as the British Thyroid Association. The British National Formulary also provides information to clinicians to support them in prescribing thyroid medication.

  Medicines legislation requires pharmacists to dispense medicines "in accordance with" a prescription. This means that medicines dispensed by or under the supervision of a pharmacist should be exactly what are written on the prescription. In addition, under their terms of service, pharmacists are required to supply medicines that conform to standards specified in the British Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmaceutical Codex, the British National Formulary or the Drug Tariff.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure stability in the strength of drugs for thyroid patients.

Shona Robison: The regulation and control of medicines are reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA’s primary aim is the protection of public health that includes assessment of medicinal products to ensure that they are of satisfactory safety, quality and efficacy and that they have a positive balance of benefit:risk. The following information has been provided by the MHRA.

  Thyroxine (Levothyroxine) is used to treat patients with underactive thyroid glands (hypothyroidism). It has been established on the UK market for over 50 years.

  The following levothyroxine products are currently authorised in the UK:

  Levothyroxine Tablets 25, 50 and 100 micrograms

  Levothyroxine Oral Solution 25, 50 and 100micrograms in 5mL.

  The tablets are marketed by six different licence holders and the oral solution is marketed by one licence holder.

  The stability issues associated with levothyroxine are known and as part of the procedure for granting an authorisation, the MHRA would have assessed the applicant company’s data to ensure satisfactory quality standards are maintained during manufacture and for the duration of the approved storage shelf life.

  With respect to levothyroxine tablets, the drug substance is present in very low quantities and finished product manufacture may be considered complex. The product’s quality specification will, as a minimum, be required to conform to the British Pharmacopoeia monograph for levothyroxine tablets BP. Due to known stability issues with levothyroxine, it is expected that a proportion of the drug will be lost during its shelf life. The monograph for levothyroxine tablets in the British Pharmacopoeia (which publishes quality standards for a range of products) has been revised for the 2011 edition, to tighten the limits for levothyroxine content from 90% to 110% of the declared content to 90% to 105% that reduces possible variability, between products and between batches of the same product.

  With respect to Levothyroxine Oral Solution, there is no pharmacopoeial monograph; nevertheless, the approved quality specification of the authorised product is in compliance with current general Pharmacopoeial requirements for oral liquid preparations.

  As is the case for any medicinal product, the MHRA will investigate and take appropriate action in relation to any reported defect of a product marketed in the UK.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients on branded forms of thyroxine have a more positive outcome than those on generic forms.

Shona Robison: Licensing and safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA has provided the following information.

  Eltroxin is the only branded form of Levothyroxine Tablets that is used to treat patients with hypothyroidism. The tablets are available in strengths of 25, 50 and 100 micrograms. A number of generic products are also available. There are a total of six Marketing Authorisation holders for levothyroxine tablets.

  Currently all Levothyroxine Tablets (branded and generic) must conform to the minimum quality standards set by the British Pharmacopoeia monograph for Levothyroxine Tablets BP. These quality standards are applied throughout the shelf life of the product thus ensuring its quality in use. Thus, the quality of these products is considered to be equivalent and therefore in terms of patient outcome, they are expected to have the same clinical efficacy and safety.

  There is no evidence to suggest that the branded levothyroxine products have a more positive outcome than the generic levothyroxine products.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has guidelines on the combined use of triiodothyronine and levothyroxine in patients with hypothyroidism.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not have guidelines on the combined use of triiodothyronine and levothyroxine in patients with hypothyroidism.

  Clinicians are expected to follow agreed national clinical guidelines when diagnosing and managing conditions affecting the thyroid. These guidelines, are based on the advice of experts in the field, including the Royal College of Physicians, and the Society for Endocrinology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and informed by voluntary sector support groups, such as the British Thyroid Association. The British National Formulary also provides information to clinicians to support them in prescribing thyroid medication.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people diagnosed with thyroid conditions is prescribed a combined course of triiodothyronine and thyroxine and what information it has on how this compares with the situation worldwide.

Shona Robison: This information is not available. Prescription data collected centrally do not relate to the number of patients receiving treatment but to numbers and costs of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of the benefits of the combined use of triiodothyronine and thyroxine compared with patients receiving only thyroxine.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has no evidence of the benefits of the combined use of triiodothyronine and levothyroxine compared with patients receiving only thyroxine.

  Clinicians are expected to follow agreed national clinical guidelines when diagnosing and managing conditions affecting the thyroid. These guidelines, are based on the advice of experts in the field, including the Royal College of Physicians, and the Society for Endocrinology, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and informed by voluntary sector support groups, such as the British Thyroid Association. The British National Formulary also provides information to clinicians to support them in prescribing thyroid medication.

Medication

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the NHS spends annually on drugs to treat a thyroid condition.

Shona Robison: Latest official statistics on the gross ingredient cost of medicines dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors can be found at www.isdscotland.org/isd/2241.html . Data are available for financial years ending 31 March 2001 to 2010 inclusive.

  The data show that for the financial year ended 31 March 2010 the gross ingredient cost for medicines defined in section 6.2 of the British National Formulary as involved in the treatment of a thyroid condition was £7,267,418. The data exclude the direct supply of medicines to patients from hospitals and hospital-based clinics. The gross ingredient cost is the cost of an item before any discounts are applied. It excludes adjustments and any dispensing or broken bulk fees.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23585 by John Swinney on 14 May 2010, what progress it has made in reducing its business travel related emissions by 20%.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government reports business travel emissions yearly and the latest Environmental Annual Report 2008-09 was published on 21 May 2010 (Bib. number 50874). This highlighted that business related travel emission had reduced by 3% from 2005-06. Whilst we recognise we have some way to go to achieve 20% we are actively promoting various initiatives that include:

  Signing up to participate in the WWF One in Five Challenge – to reduce the number of business flights by 20% over a five year period;

  Aligning our business travel targets with our Carbon Management Plan;

  Introducing and promoting portable video conferencing units;

  Promotion of teleconferencing;

  Internal communications promoting more sustainable modes of travel including more effective use of cycling, walking and public transport when travelling for business, and

  The promotion of the travel hierarchy.

NHS Finance

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis has been done to identify (a) efficiency savings and (b) productivity gains in the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: The main resource available to the NHS is the Better Quality, Better Value (BQBV) Indicators and toolkit that allow identification of productive opportunities for both efficiency savings and productivity gains within NHSScotland. The indicators compare variation in a number of areas including same day surgery rates, average length of stay, pre-operative bed days, against NHS boards, hospitals and specialties.

National Health Service

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many biomedical bursaries of £2,000 have been awarded to students to encourage them to work in the NHS after graduation, in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by institution.

Michael Russell: The following table shows the number of students awarded the Biomedical Science Bursary to date, broken down by Institution and session. The bursary is payable to students on a placement year. Student numbers in this table have been rounded up or down to the nearest five (e.g. one, two round to zero; three, four round to five) to avoid identifying individual students. Totals may not equal the sum of their constituent parts due to rounding.

  

 
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10
 2010-11


 Robert Gordon University
 25
 50
 50
 40


 Glasgow Caledonian University
 25
 60
 75
 35


 University of Abertay 
 10
 20
 20
 10


 University of the West of Scotland
 5
 10
 10
 5


 Total
 60
 135
 150
 90

Nursing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly qualified (a) nurses and (b) midwives have been offered a (i) full-time position, (ii) part-time position and (iii) nurse bank contract through its one-year job guarantee scheme in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data detailing the breakdown between nurses and midwives offered employment under the one-year job guarantee scheme and whether the posts are full-time, part-time or bank nurse posts is not available.

  Applications for the 2010-11 one-year job guarantee scheme have only been accepted since 1 September 2010, therefore complete data is not yet available on the number and types of posts offered to newly qualified nurses and midwives under the scheme.

  The number of newly qualified nurses and midwives who have been offered posts, over the previous four academic years, under the one-year job guarantee scheme, is set out in the following table:

  

 Health Board
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 Ayrshire and Arran
 0
 4
 6
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3
 1
 1
 0


 Borders
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Fife
 2
 0
 0
 14


 Forth Valley
 0
 0
 1
 0


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 0
 2
 4
 38


 Highland
 0
 2
 0
 2


 Grampian
 7
 0
 3
 36


 Lanarkshire
 4
 4
 8
 17


 Lothian
 0
 0
 0
 21


 Orkney
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Tayside
 2
 0
 0
 0


 Western Isles 
 0
 0
 1
 4


 Shetland
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Total
 18
 11
 24
 132



  All those who apply to the scheme receive assistance to find a job, although some newly qualified staff secure a job through their own efforts.

  We continue to make progress in our discussions with a range of stakeholders to secure employment opportunities for newly qualified nurses and midwives in 2010-11. In the current financial context that is clearly very challenging, but our commitment to the One Year Job Guarantee and to support the transition to employment remain as solid as ever.

Nursing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37686 by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 November 2010, when it will notify the Scottish Funding Council of the number of new entrants to trainee nursing programmes for 2011-12 and what the number of new entrants will be.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Funding Council was informed on 10 December 2010 that the number of student nurses and midwives entering degree programmes in 2011-12 will be 2,700.

Pensions

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37513 by Fergus Ewing on 26 November 2010, what the timescale is for ministerial consideration of proposed changes to the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme.

Fergus Ewing: It is proposed that the necessary changes to the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme in Scotland will be considered early in the New Year. The draft amendments will be subject to both consultation with stakeholders and the usual parliamentary consideration.

Planning

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how often since May 1999 have its reporters overturned a local authority planning decision.

Keith Brown: In the period 1 May 1999 to 30 November 2010, reporters from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals had issued 9,100 decisions on appeals against the refusal of planning permission, the failure to give a decision on application for planning permission and against conditions applied to an award of planning permission by local authorities. Of these appeals, 3,283 were allowed.

Roads

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the comment by John Swinney in motion S2M-3155 that the A9 "will remain fundamentally unsafe until it is reconstructed as a dual carriageway from Perth to Inverness."

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government remains committed to the phased dualling of the route from Perth to Inverness to further improve safety and reduce journey times on this key transport corridor. This ongoing commitment is reflected in the recent commencement of a £10.4 million scheme at Crubenmore which will see the construction of a 3.2 km extension to the existing dual carriageway.

Schools

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce whether it will call in the decision by Shetland Islands Council to close the secondary department of Scalloway Junior High School.

Michael Russell: Shetland Islands Council voted to close the secondary department of Scalloway Junior High School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make representation to Scottish ministers may do so until 28 December 2010 and Scottish ministers have until 18 January to take a decision on the call in of this closure decision. At that time, Scottish ministers will notify Shetland Islands Council of its determination and related documents will be publicly available.

Schools

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce whether it will call in the decision by Moray Council to close Cabrach Primary School.

Michael Russell: Moray Council voted to close Cabrach Primary School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make representation to Scottish ministers may do so until 28 December 2010 and Scottish ministers have until 18 January to take a decision on the call in of this closure decision. At that time, Scottish ministers will notify Moray Council of its determination and related documents will be publicly available.

Sexual Health

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the use of the term, sexmas, and whether it considers that this might cause offence to Christians.

Shona Robison: The word Sexmas was used in one image as part of last year’s digital public health information drive to reduce rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Scotland, and absolutely no offence was intended. The word is not used in any of this year’s material.

Smoking

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37464 by Shona Robison on 22 November 2010 and given that one in four deaths in Scotland is smoking related, for what reason the smoking cessation-related activity budget for 2010-11 was reduced by £115,000 in cash terms.

Shona Robison: The majority of the smoking-cessation related activity budget relates to specific funding made available for the provision of NHS smoking cessation services. There has been no reduction in this level of funding which has remained the same in 2009-10 and 2010-11 (£9,000,000 to NHS boards and about £3,700,000 for the Community Pharmacy Scheme).

  The main reason for the budget difference is that the short-term funding allocated to NHS Tayside’s "Quit 4 U" smoking cessation pilot project came to an end in 2009-10.

Social Care

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities can insist that individuals use provided care services rather than choose self-directed support or direct payment options for care services.

Shona Robison: The National Strategy for Self-directed Support , published on 23 November, makes it clear that local authorities should allow people who need support the right to choose how that support is provided and to take as much control of managing that support as they wish. Self-directed support options include taking an individual budget as a direct payment, choosing how the individual budget is allocated, or a combination of these. People may also choose to leave the local authority to arrange their support. Our draft Self-directed Support Bill includes a duty on local authorities to give people assessed as needing support the opportunity to direct their own support.

Student Finance

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ex-students are unable to pay back students loans in Scotland due to incapacity.

Michael Russell: The number of ex-students who are unable to pay back their student loans due to incapacity is 170.

Transport

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-37400 and S3W-37389 by Stewart Stevenson on 18 November and S3W-37552 by Stewart Stevenson on 25 November 2010, when the transport plan for the 2014 Ryder Cup will be published and whether it will be published as a consultation document.

Keith Brown: The development of the transport plan will be an iterative process that will draw on experience of similar events and will be fine-tuned over the next three years. There will be ongoing consultation with relevant stakeholders as part of the development work. We anticipate that the transport plan will take the form of an access strategy rather than a formal published document.

Transport

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) snow ploughs and (b) gritting vehicles are under the control of Transport Scotland.

Keith Brown: Transport Scotland has 173 snow ploughs/gritters under its control through the Trunk Road Operating Company contracts and the M6 and M77 Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contracts. These figures exclude loading tractors and footway treatment vehicles. In addition, 102 vehicles can be utilised through the Operating Company supply chains for winter operations if required.

Weather

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has had with NHSScotland regarding its preparations for winter.

Nicola Sturgeon: I have discussed winter planning with the chairs of all NHSScotland boards at our monthly meetings. The NHSScotland Chief Executive has also held discussions with NHS board chief executives.

  The Scottish Government hosted a National Winter Planning Conference on 15 June, where the key findings of the 2009-10 winter review were presented and discussed.

  The Scottish Government also hosted two regional winter planning events on 21 and 23 September, which gave NHS boards, and their partners, an opportunity to illustrate how they were enhancing their 2010-11 winter planning arrangements.

  The Scottish Government issued winter planning guidance, which emphasised the importance of planning from a whole systems perspective, to all NHS boards on 7 October.

Weather

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources were allocated for cold weather conditions following the winter of 2009-10

Kenny MacAskill: Winter of 2009-10 was the coldest in Scotland since 1962-63 and the second coldest since records began in 1914. However, by working together central and local government ensured that Scotland kept moving. In doing so, a number of lessons were learned which were taken into account by public service providers in preparing for this winter.

  Earlier this year, the Scottish Salt Group undertook a review of the resilience of the Scottish road network, building on the experience of last winter. Its findings were published in August and included 11 short-term recommendations and further medium and long-term suggestions for improvement. http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/strategy-and-research/publications-and-consultations/j13001-00.htm.

  Following the publication of the report, action was taken by Transport Scotland to develop the short-term recommendations. Monitoring of salt restocking by road authorities commenced during the summer that resulted in confidence being high in the autumn that Scottish roads authorities would have sufficient salt supplies for the start of the high winter maintenance season. Monitoring has continued during the winter to assess usage levels. In addition to this monitoring, Transport Scotland procured an additional amount of salt to provide a strategic salt supply if stocks fell to critical levels this winter. Guidance has been provided to local authorities on the arrangements for accessing this reserve of 27,000 tonnes of salt should they require it.

  Scottish Flood Forum

  Government funding for the Scottish Flood Forum will increase from £70,000 to £99,000 in 2010-11, and from £36,000 to £70,000 in the first six months of 2011-12. The Scottish Flood Forum is an independent voice, representing the interests of people and communities affected or ‘at risk’ from flooding. This funding will help the Forum provide support to communities, local authorities and individuals about the proactive steps they can take to understand flood risks and to take sensible and proportionate steps to protect themselves.

  Flood Warning Schemes

  The Scottish Government has improved Scotland’s flood warning schemes by:

  delivering an improved, more accurate flood warning service to almost 20,000 properties and businesses. Investments have been made in major improvements to flood warning across Scotland, including new schemes covering the Esk, Dee, Don, Deveron (March 2010) which have resulted in around 2000 homes and businesses within at-risk communities in North East Scotland benefitting from Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) flood warning service;

  providing SEPA with £8.6 million to enhance their flood warning service by implementing Floodline Warnings Direct. This new state-of-the-art service will launch in March 2011 and will mean that members of the public and businesses will soon be able to sign up for free flood warnings that are sent directly via land lines or mobile phones - a vital first defence to those at risk of flooding;

  investing in new flood protection schemes across Scotland, such as the Mosset Burn flood protection scheme in Forres protected around 350 homes from flooding last winter; and

  providing £750,000 funding to support the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service. This joint initiative between the Met Office and SEPA will provide improved accuracy of flood forecasts and allow SEPA to issue timely warnings to the public to allow them to prepare themselves and their property from potential flooding.

  SGoRR

  The Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) is now working 24 hours a day to provide support and co-ordination to cope with the current spell of severe weather in order to ensure that the necessary information is in place to underpin decisions about communication and to enable Ministers to maintain a dialogue with key agencies and other governments.

  Ready Winter

  Ready Winter is a new section of the Ready Scotland website published on 9 November, and provides practical advice on the simple practical precautions people can take to mitigate the worst effects of winter weather while going about their daily lives. In keeping with the rest of Ready Scotland, the site provides a single point of entry for winter advice and information, linking to other official sources of information and advice including those provided by Transport Scotland, SEPA and the Met Office.

  Ready Business

  Ready Business is a sub-section of Ready Scotland that provides generic advice for businesses to follow in preparation for all forms of emergencies, and is particularly relevant during winter. The Scottish Government has also engaged in a number of activities to promote the uptake of business continuity measures over the past few months, including sponsorship of a major conference in Edinburgh in October and arranging discussions with the CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses.

  Winter Planning for NHS Health Boards

  The Scottish Government hosted a National Winter Planning Conference on 15 June, where the key findings of the 2009-10 winter review were presented and discussed.

  The Scottish Government also hosted two regional winter planning events on 21 and 23 September, which gave NHS boards, and their partners, an opportunity to illustrate how they were enhancing their 2010-11 winter planning arrangements.

  The Scottish Government issued winter planning guidance, which emphasised the importance of planning from a whole systems perspective, to all NHS boards on 7 October.

  Winter Planning Guidance for NHS Health Boards

  The 2009-10 NHSScotland winter review confirmed that, in spite of the most severe winter weather for 30 years, H1N1 pandemic flu, and increased levels of norovirus circulating in the community, NHSScotland performed well, with performance levels for key indicators comparable with previous years, and in many areas exceeding previous year’s performance.

  This year’s winter planning guidance has been developed in consultation with policy areas across the Health Directorate, and key partners, including the Emergency Access Delivery Team, NHS Territorial Boards, COSLA, Health Protection Scotland, and NHS 24.

  The guidance focuses on the main areas that NHS boards identified through the 2009-10 winter review that could be further improved to help them prepare for winter 2010-11:

  Reduce levels of in-patient boarding

  Increase the effectiveness of escalation planning

  Improve patient discharge levels over the four-day festive public holidays

  Improve the management of norovirus.

  The guidance re-emphasises the importance of planning from a whole systems perspective, including access to Out-of-Hours and mental health services, and in implementing the recommendations made in the 2008-09 winter review that helped boards successfully manage last year’s winter pressures.

  The importance of NHS board resilience and business continuity is also highlighted in this year’s guidance.

  The Scottish Government shared geographic information with NHS boards on the number of emergency admissions that were due to falls and fractures across last year’s period of severe weather, to help facilitate discussion with local authorities around local contingency planning. Boards were also advised to make sure that they had agreed priorities in place for gritting arrangements to make sure that services are not adversely affected this winter.

  Improving Delayed Discharge Performance

  The Scottish Government are investing £70 million in a change fund that will help local partnerships redesign their services for older people. This service redesign will see the balance of care for older people move from institutional to primary and community settings, and in particular will help to reduce the level of avoidable admissions and further drive performance on delayed discharge

  Be Ready for Winter Media Campaign

  NHS 24 is leading a winter media campaign and is focusing on three key messages:

  Restock Medicines for winter ailments

  Order and collect repeat prescriptions

  When GP surgeries are closed.

  As well as announcements in the national, regional and local press, these messages are being communicated through radio and television campaigns. A range of promotional posters and leaflets, have also been sent to NHS territorial boards, health venues, such as GP Practices and Community Pharmacies, and Local Authority venues, such as local libraries.

  The Be Ready for Winter leaflet also signposts a number of services that the public can access for advice and information, such as NHS Minor Ailments Service, Immunisation Scotland, and the Ready Scotland portal.

  NHS boards has also been advised to issue local press releases to inform both the public and NHS staff, of prevailing local conditions around issues such as severe weather, norovirus, and changes in procedures.

  NHS Inform

  NHS 24 has recently launched "NHS Inform", which is a new health information service designed to give the public access to the health related information, such as:

  General information on medical conditions.

  Answers to commonly asked health questions.

  Information on health and welfare topics.

  www.healthinmylanguage.com – for translated health information.

  A behind the headlines feature – looking at the health issues making the news.

  Links to local information across NHSScotland.

  Information on your rights.

  An online enquiry service.

  NHS inform is still developing and the service will be continually updated to ensure that the public are provided with the most relevant and up-to-date information currently available.

Weather

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police vehicles were used to deal with matters arising from the severe weather conditions between 1 and 6 December 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not recorded by the police and is not held centrally.

Weather

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the frequency of updates from Transport Scotland in December 2010 on the impact of the cold weather conditions.

Keith Brown: The Traffic Scotland website is updated as soon as information has been validated by the Traffic Scotland operator. During the severe weather in December, the information was regularly updated to reflect the changing road and weather conditions.

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates and at what times the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience has met since 1 December 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38184 on 15 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who attended the meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience held since 1 December 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the question S3W-38182 answered on 15 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the (a) date and (b) time of each meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience since 1 December 2010 at which the implications of severe weather for older and vulnerable people were discussed.

Kenny MacAskill: The agenda for the meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience held since 1 December 2010 includes a standing item on the current situation and outlook for health and community care.

  For dates and times of meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee since 1 December 2010, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38184 on 15 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the (a) date and (b) time of each meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience since 1 December 2010 at which a communications strategy regarding the current severe weather was discussed.

Kenny MacAskill: The agenda for the meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience held since 1 December 2010 includes a standing item on communications issues.

  For dates and times of meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee since 1 December 2010, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38184 on 15 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the (a) date and (b) time of each meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience since 1 December 2010 at which a communications strategy to meet the needs of older and vulnerable people in the event of severe weather was discussed.

Kenny MacAskill: The agenda for the meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience held since 1 December 2010 includes standing items on communications and on the current situation and outlook for health and community care. This allows communications issues relating to the needs of older or vulnerable people to be raised as required.

  For dates and times of meetings of the Cabinet Sub-Committee since 1 December 2010, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38184 on 15 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Weather

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S3F-2698 by the First Minister on 11 November 2010 ( Official Report , c. 30366), whether it will consider the establishment of a national helpline for older and vulnerable people in the event of severe weather.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are already established helplines in operation that are funded by the Scottish Government providing information and advice to older and vulnerable people.

  For example, Care Information Scotland is a helpline and website providing information on all aspects of community care for older people. During the recent severe weather, Care Information Scotland was able to direct people to local sources of help and support.

  The Scottish Government also provides funding to Age Scotland for the Scottish Helpline for Older People. This is a telephone helpline service for older people ensuring that both they and their families/carers are provided with high quality, relevant information for their needs. It also gives appropriate signposting to other helplines and organisations.

  In addition, the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland Hotline is in place to provide a one-stop shop where households can get all the help and advice they need to cut their fuel bill and keep their homes warm during a cold winter spell.

  The Scottish Government also published a new section of the Ready Scotland website called "Ready Winter", which provides practical advice on the simple practical precautions that people, including the elderly and vulnerable and their families, carers and communities can take to mitigate the worst effects of winter weather while going about their daily lives.